A Plunder of Souls (Thieftaker Chronicles #3) by D.B. Jackson

When the graves in some of Boston’s cemeteries are found disturbed, at first the church believes it to be grave robbers of some sort. However when it is learned that each body has been desecrated in the same manner and each bears a strange symbol carved in to their chest, they realize that something much stranger is going on.

Enter Ethan Kaille, a thieftaker and conjurer who has used his abilities in the past to catch various thieves and villains. His initial investigation turns little up, yet the more he digs the more he comes to understand that what he is dealing with is incredibly powerful. Add to this the fact that Ethan’s abilities to conjure are beginning to wane and each spell becomes more and more difficult to cast. Soon he realizes even if he were to combine his abilities with the few other conjurers in the city they might not be enough to defeat the one behind the grave robbing and the disturbed souls could possibly be lost forever.

D.B. Jackson has a PhD in American History and once again has put it to good use in A Plunder of Souls. He takes us back to Boston in 1769, where a smallpox outbreak has the city on edge. Growing dissent against the British crown only adds fuel to a fire that will eventually erupt.

Jackson does an admirable job of bringing 18th century Boston to life on the page even if the overall story has become a bit formulaic. This being the third book in the series, readers will recognize common plot threads and might even be able to predict character movements as the story progresses. I am not saying this is a bad thing; there are those who enjoy reading a book where they know what is going to happen next. Not all readers enjoy this kind of thing and those who don’t might take issue.

More squeamish readers also might have problems as some scenes are a bit more gruesome. Nature isn’t terribly kind when it comes to decay.

I enjoyed reading A Plunder of Souls even with the few flaws it has. While not the strongest book out of the series, it is a good addition.